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The Debrecen Zoo and Amusement Park will be Renovated

The Debrecen Zoo and Amusement Park celebrates Earth Day and the start of the season with a new fleet of green vehicles and the arrival of new Zoo residents. On the occasion of the famous day, a press conference was held Thursday, at which Mayor László Papp and Sándor Nagy, director of the Nagyerdei Cultural Park, reported on the innovations taking place in the Zoo and elsewhere.

László Papp expressed his pleasure that the Nagyerdei Cultural Park also joined the city’s initiative, by doing so hopes to strengthen environmentally conscious thinking.

This institution was the first to join the Sustainable Debrecen program, banned the use of single-use plastic products in the zoo, introduced separate waste collection and placed increasing emphasis on energy efficiency in the field of internal transport,” the mayor emphasized.

Since 2015, the internal transport in the zoo has been solved with electric vehicles, and on the occasion of Earth Day, László Papp handed over the key to a new plug-in hybrid vehicle to Gergely Sándor Nagy. The vehicle will play an important role in the transport of animals.

By 2030, the zoo would like to replace its entire fleet with an electric drive.

László Papp also talked about other plans, all of which serve environmental awareness.

– The pride of Debrecen is the Great Forest, making it one of the greenest cities in the country with large green areas . That is why great emphasis must be placed on the way of thinking that protects this environment, the mayor pointed out. He added that the city is under tremendous pressure in terms of urbanization and economic development. In particular, it adds value to processes that focus on protecting green spaces.

– As part of the Green City program, we are creating green space developments. A public procurement call will soon be issued covering one of the city’s most important environmental programs: the Civaqua program.

The National Directorate General for Water is already negotiating with the Public Procurement Supervision Department on the approval of the public procurement procedure, so the procedure that will cover the first phase of the program can start in the coming days – emphasized László Papp. He also talked about setting up a green task force whose members are developing programs that make our daily lives greener. This way of thinking will become increasingly important in the life of the city.

Zoo Update

László Papp announced that they had started working on the comprehensive development program of the Nagyerdei Cultural Park and that a design tender will be announced shortly, aimed at the complete renovation of the Debrecen Zoo and Amusement Park.

They hope to be able to start the renovation next year, and completed within two years.

Gergely Sándor Nagy said: the goal is renewal. They also operated at the zoo during the pandemic closure, participating in a resettlement program for the first time in the institution’s history . The director highlighted that among the latest species are the African marabou, which, according to tradition, will be able to fly out of Africa on Earth Day.

In a press release Dr. Nagy Gergely Sándor announced that on the occasion of the World Tapir Day, the Debrecen Zoo grew with another special South American species! Since 2008, we have been celebrating World Tapir Day on April 27, drawing attention to the plight of these unmistakable-looking exotic hooves. All four tapir species that live today are on the World Conservation Union’s (IUCN) Red List – three of which are also endangered – primarily due to poaching and shrinkage of their habitat.

The Debrecen Zoo, which participates in the European Species Conservation Breeding Program (EAZA EEP), has been home to South American tapirs since 2011, who have delighted the general public with several offspring in recent years. The tapirs have so far shared their thematic catwalk with capillaries from an area with them, into which two large mares arrived on 31 March.

The young male and female who make up the future breeding couple met for the first time in Debrecen, as the former comes from the Frankfurt and the latter from the Amsterdam Zoo. After a period of quarantine after their arrival and gradual familiarization, they have already made an appearance to visitors. The great mara, also known as the pampany rabbit (Dolichotis patagonum), is the largest rodent native to the pampas in southern and central Argentina.

The pampany rabbit (Dolichotis patagonum)

Its appearance is very special: its head is reminiscent of a short-eared rabbit, while its body is more reminiscent of a tiny deer or other ungulate. The institution’s New World collection is now augmented by a Nandu kak, who arrived on April 21 from the Ústí nad Labem Zoo in the Czech Republic. There are plans for a potential couple to move in soon. Native to the eastern pampas of South America, the rhinoceros (Rhea americana) is the largest bird on the continent, although much shorter and slimmer than the world record ostrich. It got its name from the characteristic cry of roosters during a wedding dance.

Visitors will be able to admire the newcomers as early as the day of reopening.

Source: Dehir

Photos: Szabolcs Kandert + Debreen Zoo

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